Gate to The Past

Ratu Boko is an archaeological site known to modern Javanese as Kraton Ratu Boko or Ratu Boko's Palace. The site covers 16 hectares in two hamlets (Dawung and Sambireja) of the village of Bokoharjo and Prambanan. In striking contrast to other Classic-period sites in Central Java and Yogyakarta, which are remains of temples, Ratu Boko displays attributes of an occupation or settlement site, although its precise functions is unknown. Probably the site was a palace complex which belongs to the kings of Sailendra or Mataram Kingdom that also build temples scattered across Prambanan Plain. The argument was based on the fact that this complex wasn't a temple nor building with religious nature, but a fortified palace instead which evidence in the remnant of fortified wall and the dry moat as defensive structure.
The remains of settlements also founds in Ratu Boko vicinity. This site is located 196 m above the sea level, on the highest point in the site, there is a small pavilion from which one will be able to see a panoramic view of Prambanan temple with Mount Merapi as the background.